Two Russian nuclear-armed bombers circled the western Pacific island of Guam this week in the latest sign of Moscows growing strategic assertiveness toward the United States.

The Russian Tu-95 Bear-H strategic bombers were equipped with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and were followed by U.S. jets as they circumnavigated Guam on Feb. 12 local timehours before President Barack Obamas state of the union address.

Air Force Capt. Kim Bender, a spokeswoman for the Pacific Air Force in Hawaii, confirmed the incident to the Washington Free Beacon and said Air Force F-15 jets based on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, scrambled and responded to the aircraft.

The Tu-95s were intercepted and left the area in a northbound direction. No further actions occurred, she said. Bender said no other details would be released for operational security reasons.

The bomber incident was considered highly unusual. Russian strategic bombers are not known to have conducted such operations in the past into the south Pacific from bomber bases in the Russian Far East, which is thousands of miles away and over water.

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